NEW JERSEY
NorthJersey.com
MORRISTOWN — A New Jersey man has admitted using a sledgehammer to destroy a monument to victims of clergy sexual abuse.
Morris County authorities say Gordon Ellis pleaded guilty Wednesday to a downgraded charge of criminal mischief as a disorderly person offense. The 39-year-old Mendham man won’t have to serve a jail term but must pay $7,500 in restitution and will be put on probation when he’s sentenced Feb. 7.
Ellis, who authorities say has a history of psychiatric problems, destroyed the 400-pound millstone memorial outside St. Joseph Church in Mendham in November 2011. Authorities say the reasons behind the vandalism will be disclosed at the sentencing hearing.
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